Harry Potter and the Path to World Optimisation
by Gaius Verres
Summary: My attempt at a sequel to Less Wrong's fantastic Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality. Harry Potter-Evans-Verres-Granger and a select team of companions travel back in time to save humanity and launch into a new age of Reason.
1. Chapter 1

**Harry Potter and the Path to World Optimisation**

 **Chapter 1: Meet the Cast**

This is the first of two prologue chapter for an idea I couldn't get out of my head. It is an attempt at a sequel to Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality, beginning (in this chapter) on Harry's birthday. You really should have read HPMOR or characters may seem out of character. A brief description of the fic would go as follows: after almost thirty years under Voldemort's unforgivable vow and many set backs to his plans, Harry decides that he may not achieve what he wants before humanity endangers itself. He therefore travels back in time with a group of companions to change the past. Not the recent past - he believes that to save humanity he must travel to the Ancient World and found an enlightened society to achieve the best humanity can.

* * *

 **Hermione Granger-Potter-Evans-Verres**

Hermione Granger-Potter-Evans-Verres, who incidentally hated her name but was unwilling to give up any portions of it, scowled to herself as she placed an illusion to cover the spot where the libraries original copies of scientific literature had been displayed in secure cabinets until very recently. While she had been hard pressed to come up with a better alternative to Harry's plan, that didn't stop it being reckless, imprudent and somehow just stupid. But still Harry's best solution as far as any of the time could see.

At least if everything went to plan nothing they had stolen would really exist. Sort of-maybe. After a quick glance at her phone to check the time she waved her wand to move the shrunken books into her trunk and touched her hand to the handle before disappearing with a crack.

 **Draco Malfoy**

Draco sat facing out the window of his Hogwarts office trying his hardest to think his thoughts in Latin. Almost a year ago Harry had called a meeting of the original Bayesian Conspiracy – which was just the two off them. The meeting was to take place on the anniversary of that first one, in the same room. Draco had arrived to find that, for whatever unthinkable reason, Harry was awaiting him in his eleven year-old body.

The meeting had run for almost two minutes before Draco had requested he change back so whatever Harry had to say could be taken 'less weirdly'. Harry refused. The meeting stalled. And eventually Draco gave in too Harry's suggested solution and what may have been the most important decision in the history of the planet, and hopefully the universe, had taken place between two thirty-nine year-olds in their eleven year old bodies.

Harry had proceeded to run through the long series of setbacks they had encountered and his belief that tie was not helping with the general state of affairs deteriorating faster than they were able to progress.

Harry had then started speaking in Latin and explained his plan for a new time travel device and since that moment neither of them had exchanged a word in any languages other than ancient Greek and Latin. His mind swirled with emotions that settled into something between excitement and anxiety as he prepared for what was to come (or debatably had been).

On the opposite side of the room Mr. Goyle posture eased an inch. In response Mr. Crabbe gave the tiniest of nods. This was one of those moods. They'd be standing here in silence for a good while more. Oh well, that's what minions did mostly thought Mr. Crabbe. Mr. Goyle – who somehow knew this – gave a small nod of his own.

 **Neville Longbottom**

It was humiliating, Neville thought, to sit here as an adult man and accomplished auror and be scolded by his grandmother, as she ran through a check list to make sure he'd remembered things to pack. Of course Neville understood the need for planning, diligence and work – he was a Hufflepuff, for Merlin's sake. But had she needed to ask if he'd remembered to pack socks and a toothbrush.

That was just patronising.

Trying his best to appear attentive he slowly resumed trying to hone the rust off the long disused sword that was the Longbottom's traditional rejoinder to the Malfoy cane.

It had taken some convincing from Harry to talk Augusta into this, followed by some convincing from Draco Malfoy which in turn was followed by some convincing by Headmistress McGonagall who simply pointed out that Neville would follow General Chaos to the depths of hell, so following him back in time might be the lesser evil of what Minerva believed to be a brain-load of uniquely crazy Boy-Who-Lived-To-Snap-His-Fingers plots. At which point Augusta insisted that she would not be letting Neville 'run off unsupervised' and agreed to accompany them.

 **Minerva McGonagall**

The original experiment had seemed fascinating Minerva remembered, dangerous but fascinating. Long ago Hermione had decided that Harry could only experiment under heavy expert supervision as a way of ensuring her absence didn't require Harry to get frozen in indecision due too his vows. The result had been a large number of supervised transfiguration experiments that had confused and fascinated Minerva. As the results had come in and Harry's experiments advanced he had increasing need of more expert knowledge and an experienced caster so supervision had morphed into collaboration.

This led to a number of new discoveries and the team became the known as the cutting edge in transfiguration research. Slowly at at first she had begun to pick up and incorporate some of the thought methods Harry had used before eventually becoming the third member of the Bayesian Conspiracy and joining them in their study and practice of science.

The original fascinating experiment had sought to flesh out their understanding of time-turners. For months Harry had shaken is head with increasing incredulity at their results. When Minerva had proposed the pattern she saw the young wizard had almost gone into 'you turned into a cat mode' protesting that there were all sort rules preventing this sort off thing. Still after much mumbling about magic's weird sense off things working like people thought rather than logically they had found several important facts:

Time-turners contained an enchantment on one half of the hourglass that froze time, this side contained what they called 'charged sand' which was frozen in the past.

Turning the time-turner deactivated an obstruction that allowed the charged sand to enter the lower half of the glass which pulled the device back in time to the sands period and took the 'new time' to synchronise the two realities.

The links of the neck chain contained runes which projected the time of the lower hourglass around the wearer(s) and their items on their person.

They then discovered that the sand could in fact be any matter with some of the behaviours of a liquid. Using a gas also worked but since gravity didn't cause the particles to trickle through in the same way, once one arrived in the past time would move in 'slow motion' as the particles diffused across the neck. Since this would occur increasingly slowly time would go slower and slower until eventually the last molecule had crossed the neck. It also allowed Harry to use 'charged matter' which was apparently important as it sounded more scientific.

The big discovery that had started all this was that if one used the philosopher's stone to permanently transfigure the charged matter into charged matter while in the past you could reuse it to go back a further six hours increasing the distance that could be travelled backwards.

 **Alastor Moody**

Alastor Moody scowled at the empty room as he approached the stone, his wooden leg clunking distinctively. Despite numerous offers of restoration of youth and body part he had never used the stone. Every scar on his body, every ache and old wound was a reminder to constant vigilance. Now however the plan called for him to play the role of a fit young man so to the stone he would go.

The process itself felt unremarkable but once he stood up, stronger, taller and more agile than in years he stretched and gave a fierce grin. Alastor's suggestion that they take into account the dates of spell creations when determining their destination had ended up playing a key role. In the era they were travelling too they would be the only people able to obliviate, Imperious, Crucio or know of the killing curse. Not too mention their advantages in potions and Harry's technology.

A shiver rippled through him and he remembered he was naked. He moved with more poise than in years as he picked up his new clothes from a table in the corner. Didn't look too bad he reckoned. He picked up the loincloth and grimaced before he caught himself. His skin was more sensitive now. Still let it not be said Alastor Moody quailed in the face of ancient underpants. The loincloth was followed by a rough wool tunic, sturdy leather sandles and finally a leather belt with a long dagger.

 **Harry Potter-Evans-Verres-Granger**

For years Harry Potter had laboured under oaths and the risk of causing an apocalypse, while it seemed obvious that one shouldn't, not destroying the earth was one of his two main goals. Unfortunately this was becoming increasingly difficult to his other goal of figuring out everything, combining his two worlds, making everyone immortal and colonising the universe.

Throughout his teens and his twenties he had laboured tirelessly to achieve that goal. In the mean time he had found himself fighting a losing battle against muggle technology as increasingly powerful weapons were developed and global warming accelerated. When a new wave of extreme politics swept through much of the world and muggles becoming increasingly divided the prospect of a repeal of the Statute of Secrecy seemed more and more remote.

Eventually he had managed to reason that don't destroy the world did indeed cover save the world from being destroyed, or better yet save everyone by destroying the world. And then it hit him, a way to get more time and 'destroy' this world. Thinking back to his and McGongals experiments on time he ad built a machine into which he inserted two large time turner of the oldest known design (new time turners contained charged matter of six ages to allow to travel back any number of hours below their maximum rather than all the way back).

These time turners simply contained a single compartment of charged matter. He also inserted the philosophers stone. The device worked by going back six hours using the stone to charm the time turner as really being from that time then swapping the time turners and going back six more hours to repeat. The time turners were the stored in a highly spelled chamber of the device to preserve them back into the present day until he retrieved them to go back to the chosen era.

On his arrival he would then use the stone on himself making him permanently of that time and creating a single new reality, thus destroying the existing world and fulfilling the prophecy – he hoped.

Initially he had decided to go far enough back to prevent nuclear armament, then he decided far enough to prevent global warming. Then to the time of the Industrial Revolution or Enlightenment. Harry had revealed his plan to a few friends and advisers for feedback and things ad sort off taken of from there. It was eventually decided to look for a period in which modern magic and technology was of great advantage but that also had enough social structure and centralised government that they could work using the tools of an organised state.

It had been argued down to Ancient Greece for it cultural significance in thought, or Ancient Rome. In the end they settled on the period in which Rome transitioned from Republic to Empire. In the civil strife it would be easier to acquire power and the Roman Empire would control a huge amount of resources and people at it's height. If Harry held sway there he could start the Enlightenment more than a thousand years earlier and spread it to millions of people.

Unable to face going without Hermione they had decided to go together, leaving their Hogwarts tower empty around him. Well their was still furniture, pictures and household items lying around but all the research equipment was packed and the bookshelves were bare so it was empty to a Potter-Evans-Verres-Granger. After the value of Moody's input in his planning Harry decided to ask several more people to come.

His wise advisers McGongall, Lady Longbottom and Neville as well as Moody for security purposes (the man might prove invaluable in what some small part of Harry delightedly termed 'world conquest'). He had also approached Draco who had agreed but demanded to be allowed his minions. Harry had protested. Draco had sulked like a spoilt child and said it wasn't fair that Harry got to bring minions. Eventually he had reluctantly acquiesced and Crabbe and Goyle had joined the party.

A wave of his wand caused his last trunk to vanish to the site of the ritual. Harry turned too the last remaining item – a bust of Quirinus Quirrel. What few people new was that this bust of the Battle Magic Professor was in fact the Professor. A quick tap unfroze his previous petrification spell.

"Everything is ready then? In that case I must once again complain of your treatment of me. It's bad enough to be a head but – mmph!"

A second tap transfigured Voldemort back into a ring which Harry put on, thus cutting short the indignant protest. With a sharp crack he apparated out of the room.

With half an hour to go two thirds of the team was already gathered and looking apprehensively at Harry's time machine. If a wizard had designed it the device would simply have been a mysterious box. The muggles probably would have had it as some shiny white thing with a screen and picture of some fruit.

When Harry Potter-Evans-Verres-Granger designed it the device was a time machine every sci-fi nerd would drool over. Covered in dials and knobs and coloured bits with runes and redundant but complicated displays, the machine whirred and beeped.

None of this was necessary as the device itself was only a few feet in size but if he was going to build a time machine it would look impressive.

After a few greetings they each began too see to last minute preparations. With fifteen minutes scheduled to departure they were all assembled and Harry cleared his throat before speaking. "Alright lets do a last run through of our new selves, go over your names and back stories in English a last time. From then on we're in character permanently unless I say otherwise."

 **Harry Potter and the Path to World Optimisation starring:**

 **Harry James Potter-Evans-Verres-Granger** as ** _Gaius Figulus Verres_ **and his captive Dark Lord and Mysterious old Wizard _ **Quintus Quirinius Quirinalis**_

 **Hermione Granger-Potter-Evans-Verres** his wife as ** _Hermione_ _Albucia_** _,_ (still his wife),the daughter of Minerva

 **Minerva McGonagall** as ** _Minerva_ , **Verres' mother in law, a Greek noble women

 **Alastor Moody** as ** _Aulus Figulus Musa_** his bodyguard and client

 **Neville Longbottom** as ** _Agrippa Longinius Nerva_ **a friend of Verres accompanied by his mother (formerly grandmother) _ **Claudia Augusta**_

 **Draco Malfoy** as ** _Lucius Mallius Draco_ **with his minions ** _Titus Mallius Vicentius_ **and _ **Marcus Mallius Gregorius**_

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

These names may seem quite confusing so I'll briefly cover how names worked in Rome. Men usually had three or more, woman two or three. For men the names would be " _Praenomen Nomen Cognomen_ ". The praenomen was a first name but there aren't many so it was often used only with in the family or with the second name (examples are Gaius, Marcus and Lucius). The nomen is the name of the _gens_ or family, which was shared by many others and so was almost never used alone (examples are Julius, Antonius, Cornelius and Claudius). The cognomen was a nickname and the most common way to actually address or discuss someone, although sometimes people would refer to each other using both parenomen and nomen (for example Gaius Marius) or nomen and cognomen (Pompey Magnus). Most Romans are simply referred to be cognomen though (examples are Augustus, Caesar, Vespasian, Sulla, Pliny etc.).

Some people had more than one cognomen and some families all had the same cognomen and therefore used second ones (Scipio Africanus for example is refereed to by those to cognomen). They were also granted as titles so Africanus conquered Carthage and Germanicus fought against the Germans. For simplicity I will General only use one name per character out of their full names, but those may still be used in the appropriate contexts.

Women were generally known by the female version of the family name (Julia, Antonia, Cornelia) often accompanied by a number or second name equivalent to Jr/Sr (examples would be Julia Prima - the 1st Julia; Julia Secunda - the second or Julia Minor/Maior - kinda old and young Julia). Some would have a cognomen instead of a number or age indicator. This is what I've done for Augusta Longbottom so I can keep using Augusta. For Hermione and Minerva I've made them have Greek cover stories because those names are Greek. Hermione is posing as McGonagall's daughter who is half Roman so she also uses the female version of her long-disappeared father Albus' nomen (Albina).

To explain the relationships binding the team together in their cover stories I'd also like explain the Roman system of Patronage/Clientship. Powerful Roman families had hereditary clients, who would vote for them and support them in their ventures. The client got a patron out of this, who would back businesses support them or argue for them legally etc. Basically both side help each other in a variety of ways (votes, loans, protection, shared business, subsidising arts etc.)

Often a family became a client when they were freed from slavery or granted citizenship in which case they would take the nomen of the Master who freed them or the Roman who worked to give the citizenship. This is the backstory for Crabbe, Goyle and Moody. Crabbe and Goyle are Malfoy's clients and share his name, while Moody is Harry's.

Note Note: _One of the reasons I chose this period is the similarities to how Less Wrong portrayed family power in HPMOR and the period is full of plotting. So we get to see Draco plot his way through the Senate's politics where he should feel at home._


	2. Chapter 2

**Harry Potter and the Path to World Optimisation**

 **Chapter 2: Meet the Setting**

The second portion of the prologue before we move into the actual tale.

* * *

The last preparations complete Harry glanced around at his companions. He currently looked as he had at thirty and had improved his vision. Hermione had been de-aged more than him so she appeared in her early twenties, in the time they were heading two a thirty year-old wife who had never born children would likely be frowned upon. Minerva had been restored to the age she was when Harry met her, her guise as Hermione's mother seemed to suit the former Headmistress. Draco and Neville were both de-aged to their late teens and Mad-Eye – who had both eyes back – was in his fifteen year-old body and bulged with muscle. Augusta was re-aged to her early thirties as Neville's mother. Crabbe and Goyle were tough looking men in their primes, armed with daggers and staves.

Harry double checked anyone was in their positions and heaved two platinum goblin forged chain links into their sockets on the device. The party and all their possessions were encircled by a single huge chain off platinum inscribed with all the usual time turner runes plus a few of Hermione and Augusta's modifications. Spreading from this chain was a web of smaller gold time turner chains that enclosed the party in an intricate pattern.

"Everyone cast their cushioning charms, this will be changing both our time and location. I've also tried to account for erosion but we could end up some way above ground – better to be up in the air than appear underground, eh?"

Harry grinned. Then he tapped the time machine and then twirled it. The large hourglasses slowly turned over and the room around them disappeared.

* * *

 **106 BC, ten miles outside the port of Dyrrachium in Modern Albania**

With a groan brought on by his howling headache and the left side of his face stinging Harry awoke. An instant later something hit his face and the stinging sensation increased. Opening his eyes he saw Moody, no he corrected himself, Musa looming over him. Grasping an extended hand he allowed himself to be pulled upright.

"Who's awake?"

Harry/Verres asked, attempting to overcome his disorientation and slip into character. With a disapproving glare, much less intimidating without the Eye of Vance, Musa replied in fluent Vulgar Latin.

"I woke you first _Verres_. Now you wake Draco and I'll Vicentius and Gregorius. Then the rest of them by fighting ability"

The idea of frowning past through Verres' mind before he overcame it and followed the former auror's instructions – experience had taught him to respect Mad-Eye's paranoia as a sensible approach to the unknown.

A short while later they were all awakened and after a healthy dose of medical potions to clear their heads they had a final briefing and retrieved their assigned positions before bidding their farewells. After much debate they had decided to travel in smaller groups on arrival, so they attracted less attention and be more easily trusted. As Musa had put it 'You don't trick an old witch into letting her pass her wards for an emergency Floo-call by arriving as group of injured people or some such nonsense – the lone victim of a splinching was far more likely to gain access due to appearing less threatening.

Thankfully in their new period individuals of status tended to have retinues of clients, advisor, slaves and servants so some of their backstories would actually gain credibility. With a curt final nod Mad-Eye apparated away.

Squinting eastward Harry could make out the distant shape of a man falling through the air several miles to their east before disappearing after a second. Few wizards had the combination of calm, instinct and experience required for that distance apparating. Centuries ago some cunning wizard had realised that while apparation could only take you to a location you had seen before, you easily apparate somewhere unknown by making line-of-sight jumps. In the early 1800s a Black with had figured out that by apparating high into the air you could extend your line of vision to greater distances and make larger jumps. After several small height increases the unfortunate ancestor of the Black family had apparated to high and died due to what Verres' assumed to be a combination of a lack of air and extreme cold.

For the intervening century and a half wizardkind had therefore assumed the technique impossible and some violation of a fundamental law of magic like _one cannot transfigure a part of a whole object_. Tom Riddle had seen this tale and drawing the same conclusion had reintroduced the technique before mastering unaided flight. Making repeated high altitude apparations and a safe landing was taxing and it would take Mad-Eye several days including rest periods to arrive in his destination, the Roman Province of Nearer Spain.

After deciding to split up Hermione had suggested that they infiltrate the past in both Muggle and Magical roles to increase unity across this divide and offer a greater level of influence. The sole purely muggle role went to Alastor Moody who would play the part of a young muggle and aspiring legionary recruit, joining the campaigns of Sertorius and then Pompey in Spain.

Verres, along with Hermione his Greek wife and her 'mother' Minerva, would be accompanying the young Roman noble Draco of the Mallii family as his tutor, a Roman of Greek descent who had recently gained citizenship. Also with them were Neville/Nerva a knight of the Equestrian order and his grandmother Claudia Augusta.

The final two additions to the party were the thirty year-old Vicentius, a towering hulk posing as an ex-legionary, and Gregorius a large slave, who were Draco's bodyguards.

Their party would make its way on foot to the port of Dyrrachium and buy passage on a ship to Rome posing as the young Patrician Lucius Mallius Draco, last of a noble House and supposed son a real – if relatively obscure – historical figure who had died in a recent military campaign, and Draco's retinue of family and clients.

The current plan, though in Harry's experience very open to adaption and prone to disruption, was that Draco embed himself as a young noble and in time enter the Senate and begin making his mark, taking particular care to make allies of Gaius Marius. Harry, in the guise of Verres the wise mentor, would eventually seek to pass into the service of Marius' relatives the Julii and seek to tutor Gaius Julius Caesar.

The plan was noticeably devoid of further detail but with the knowledge of what they considered history along with the philosopher's stone they would pose as several generations of their first roles. Draco repeatedly playing his own heir and building a sturdy political dynasty. Harry and Hermione would repeatedly play their own descendants and influence great Roman leaders and Emperors. Harry's endgame for what he had termed phase one was to remain a capable and respected aid, with a hint of Dumbledoriness, who would be a natural successor in the wake of the disposal of one of the more tyrannical Emperors of the dynasties to follow.

Phase One was open to change because their presence, while hopefully subtle, may well lead to great changes that prevented the likes of Nero or Caligula from rising to the throne and presenting Harry as a benevolent successor.

Phase Two was, though more distant, better defined within the grand plan. Once assuming power their efforts would be divided in three directions. The first would be promoting the Methods in order to bring about an Enlightenment of great proportions, encompassing both magic and the mundane, with all the scientific advance of the next two millennia carefully introduced to ancient times. The second goal was the integration of Muggle and Magical society in a utilitarian manner, hopefully more easily done in this era prior to the Interdict of Merlin and the Statute of Secrecy. The final objective was the expansion of these ideals throughout the world, preferably by social and diplomatic means, although the existing historical documents meant that some armed conflict was likely inevitable.

A discontented sigh from Augusta broke Harry's thoughts.

"If I'd realised how bad a hike in ancient footwear would have been I'd have risked the apparating like Alastor."

A burst of light from a tree revealed Moody's patronus, which barked "My name's Musa." Followed by a quick "Constant Vigilance!" before it vanished.

From somewhere behind him Harr-Verres heard the dull rumble of Vicentius.

"Alright, how the hell did the old bastard manage that?"

* * *

 **Author's Note**

From this point onwards I will increasingly use Greco-Roman names for characters, although where the same name did exist I have used it (Draco, Augusta, Minerva, Hermione), otherwise either a close approximation (Vicentius, Gregorius, Nerva (Neville) and Musa (Moody)) or names of significance to the character (Lucius as Draco's first name and Verres as Harry's cognomen).

* A quick explanation of the Roman class system to explain a few words. The top rung of ancient Rome were Patricians or noble-men like Draco. Beneath them were the Equestrians (originally providing cavalry or 'knights' and often translated as the 'knight' class) who were a sort of middle class, often more directly involved in the economy than their Patrician counterparts and controlling significant wealth. At the (sort of) bottom were normal Roman citizens or Plebeians who were comparable to a working class.

At the actual bottom of the barrel are two further classes, freemen and slaves. A freeman is free but not a citizen, he might be of foreign origin or a freed slave or the descendant of such. At the very bottom are slaves, although for the sake of the plot and to cut down on future explanations I'll outline a few key differences between Roman slavery and the modern concept of slavery.

Roman slaves were property, but generally not descended from a long line of slave ancestor or a slave 'class'. Many were in fact the spoils of war and some had even sold themselves into slavery (gladiators, tutors and medical personnel were frequently slaves who'd sole themselves). This is largely due to the institutionalised slavery of Rome, which allowed for upward mobility, slaves could purchase their freedom or be awarded it (examples of slaves being freed as oppose to buying their freedom are commonly found amongst gladiator and in the somewhat common act of freeing ones slaves in one's will).

Finally the fact that slavery was legal and institutionalised, and slaves seen as human if socially very inferior, differentiates it from modern and colonial slavery because slaves were recognised and had certain rights, some level of private property and occasionally some level of monetary compensation (otherwise you couldn't save up to buy your freedom). This may not seem important but it explains why later actions of characters remain plausible with their cover stories.


End file.
